Karoake Revolution is releasing an American Idol version of its game for PlayStation 2, complete with original American Idol tunes and judgements from Randy and Simon. Players can cover one of 40 songs, including Taylor Hicks' "Do I Make You Proud", Bo Bice's "The Real Thing", Ruben Studdard's "Flying Without Wings", and Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway". You can also channel William Hung, by singing "She Bangs". Once you've finished your song, Randy and Simon will have some remarks for you. Paula Abdul's not involved, but you can cover her '80s hit "Straight Up".

This sounds like a game for the pre-teen set at slumber parties or their very first boy-girl parties. I can see it now: an 11-year-old girl's night is ruined when Simon tells her she's the worst singer ever.

[Via TV Filter]

Yes, the headline would usually include the "at (age)," but I can't find anything that says what his age was. Nothing on the IMDB, and nothing on his site either.

You would recognize Jay's voice as much as his face, as he voiced an incredible number of cartoons over the years, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Reboot, Spiderman, Teen Titans, Superman, The Mighty Ducks, Gargoyles, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as well as a massive number of videogames: World of Warcraft, X-Men Legends, Lionhearts, various Star Trek games, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and just about every other video game ever made that used a voice. But he had live action roles in TV and movies too, including Lois and Clark, Newhart, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., Mr. Belvedere, Twin Peaks, Beauty and the Beast, Eerie, Indiana, Matlock, Murphy Brown, Picket Fences, and The Golden Girls. He was also a Royal Shakespeare Company actor and a singer.

He died earlier this week after surgery for removal of a non-cancerous growth on his lungs.

Today, game developer Gameloft is going to announce a multi-year agreement with Touchstone Television; under the agreement, Gameloft will develop mobile phone games based on Touchstone-produced shows. It will also be announced that the first two shows to get the mobile game treatment will be Lost and Desperate Housewives.

Now, with all the mysteries and symbols and codes that float around Lost, I can easily see how that can be made into an engaging game. But Housewives? What are they going to have the game players do in that one? Have Gabrielle sleep with the housepainter instead of the gardner? Have Bree kill another husband? Give Lynette another screaming kid? Since Gameloft has also made The O.C. into a video game, I'm sure they're capable of creating something interesting. But I don't think a Housewives game would hold my interest while I take the train into the city.

William Shatner has faith that a new video game will give Star Trek a higher profile, after it has apparently fallen off the American radar. The game is called Star Trek: Legacy and, of course, he's voicing Capt. Kirk's character. The game will span all five of the franchise's television series, allowing players to fly 60 different space ships and encounter all sorts of aliens, including battling the Klingons and The Borg. Shatner hopes the game will hold over fans until 2008, when the next movie is due out.

Star Trek: Legacy comes out in October.

Having a computer/TV setup seems like a dream come true, especially for couch potatoes and geeks. You can watch TV, download music and movies, surf the web, and check e-mail from the comfort of your couch, using a remote to control the megasystem that's in one area of your house. So how come we haven't really seen that happen yet?

Slate has an interesting piece today that talks about computer/TV products that never came to be, or came to be and then quickly died (like the Viiv):

"My theory is that PC-TV hybrid products like Viiv aim for a sweet spot that doesn't exist. Very savvy consumers will hack together these setups themselves. The less savvy will just keep their TVs and computers separate. And the folks in the middle? If they're around, nobody has found them yet."

Hmmm...I consider myself in the middle. I'm a bit savvy, but I still want to keep my computers and TV separate. Not because I wouldn't necessarily want to have a computer/TV mix if a perfect setup could be created. It's more because I don't really see a need to have my computer on my TV, or vice versa. And I don't want to play games on my cellphone or watch a TV on my refrigerator or take notes on a Blackberry.

What do you think?

Wear Chanel. Go to Harbor. Drive a Land Cruiser. Make an ass of yourself at a charity function. That's what they do in The O.C. and soon you can do it too, in a video game. Gameloft, the makers of Paris Hilton's Diamond Quest, is currently laboring over a game based on the FOX teen soap. It's a Sims-style game where you can wander around real O.C. locations and work on your tan or your muscles. Looks are apparently very important in the storyline of the game. You can choose to be any of the lead characters, Ryan, Marissa, Summer or Seth, or you can create your own character to shake things up in their McMansions.

What I want to know is: Can you punch somebody or get high? It just wouldn't be The O.C. without a fight or someone overdosing on drugs.

In case you have an empty room in your house that you don't plan on using anytime soon, may I suggest something to put in it? As the final episode of The Tony Danza Show quickly approaches (it's this Friday), the show has listed it's trademark Extravadanza gameboard on E-Bay. For those that have never seen the show, Extravadanza works just like Plinko on The Price is Right. However, Extravadanza is far superior because it has two large moving hands that shake uncontrollably while the contestant drops the puck. If you're interested though, better break out the checkbook and fast. Last I checked, there were almost 60 bids and it's already over $700 with an $800 minimum shipping fee.

This seems to be the craze lately. I know that Saturday Night Live version of Trivial Pursuit is a huge seller as are the numerous different versions of that Scene It! DVD game. Later this year we can expect a few more. 24 and The Amazing Race are both being turned into board games with accompanying DVDs. They're slated for release in the fourth quarter of 2006.

The 24 game will feature Kiefer Sutherland on the DVD (according to his IMDb page anyway) and players will assume the roll of CTU agents trying to stop a terrorist threat. There will be plenty of mini-games to keep players occupied while a ticking clock (it's part of the DVD) keeps them on their toes. Expansions are already being worked on, so expect additional cases after the initial release of the game.

There's more after the jump...

ABC's Lost is such a hit (one of those shows that's both a mainstream hit and a cult fetish) that it's doing everything it can to make it even more popular. There's the show you can watch on TV, there are the eps you can watch via iTunes, there's the interactive online game and a tie-in book, and now comes the news we all knew was coming, a videogame. Ubisoft will make the game, and J.J. Abrams and other Lost people will help with the storyline.

Can I make a suggestion? Make the numbers a part of the game. Players have to punch in the numbers every 108 minutes - no matter what else is going on elsewhere in the game - or the game ends! Ha!

[via TV Tattle]

Should I know what this Dance Dance Revolution thing is? I mean, I feel really out of touch. I mean, the Wikipedia page for it is bigger than the one for poker.

And now CBS has announced that they are making a TV series out of it. It will air on Saturday mornings, so I'm assuming it's a kids show? It's going to be part of the network's "Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party," which, to be honest, sounds kinda creepy to me.

[via Boing Boing]

Yup, Paris Hilton has a video game out, called "Paris Hilton's Jewel Jam," though for some reason she thinks it's called "Diamondquest." She unveiled the game in Los Angeles at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. You can play the game on a cell phone, if, you know, you want to be caught in public playing a stupid Paris Hilton video game.

The object of the game is to capture Nicole Richie and lock her away forever. Watch out for the tiny dogs that will try to bite you! Make it back to the Hilton Hotel and you win the game!

Chris over at Ad Jab found this awesome online game created to promote the arrival of American Dad on DVD. The game is essentially set up like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat or games of that nature, except it pits characters from American Dad against characters from Family Guy. So, if you ever wanted to use Stewie to kick the loving bejeezus out of Stan from American Dad, this is your chance. There's an arcade version and a two-player version, so you can waste time and do it with someone you love. That's how this thing called the "Web" brings us together. I haven't gotten that far in the game, but according to Chris the "big boss" you fight in the end is actually Ryu from Street Fighter. That's a very "Family Guy" kind of gag, I must say.

As a youngster of the greatest decade of all decades, the 1980's, I remember watching a game show where contestants played about a minute or two of the hottest video games of the time (Frogger, Pac-Man, Global Thermonuclear War) for cash and prizes. After watching the players performing quite badly on these games I though to myself  'Gee, video game competitions on television will never work.'

Apparently, the hormones racing through my teenage body hindered my opinion-making skills, because they are returning to television, and soon. Major League Gaming has announced an agreement with USA Network to air seven one-hour episodes during the holiday season. The episodes will cover MLG tournaments across the country, the playoffs in Chicago and the Las Vegas championships to be held in November.

I guess I need to start  honing my Pong skills.

 

Hey, remember those upcoming Family Guy video games I mentioned? Well, there's still no official release date set, but there is some information about what the game will be exactly. 2K and High Voltage, the developers of the game, are calling it "interactive humor." You'll play Peter, Stewie, and Brian, each with different objectives but with paths crossing throughout the video game. Your adventures through Quahog will involve combat and puzzle-solving skills. In addition to the main characters, there will also be cameo appearances by over two hundred of the show's extras, including the evil monkey. There does seem to be some apprehension among gamers about the development team behind the new game, but I guess we'll wait and see. The screenshots look pretty cool, but that's not the best way to tell if the game will be worth it or not.

It makes perfect sense when you think about it. What is the one element missing from video games these days? Yes, exactly, it's oil painting. Do you know how much more popular Tomb Raider would have been if instead of Lara Croft you just spent the whole time painting mountains? Well, AGFRAG Entertainment is taking video games to the next level with a new game based on the paintings of Bob Ross, the poofy-haired, avuncular gentleman who lulled us all into contentment with his soothing voice and gentle instruction on the long-running PBS series The Joy of Painting. The new game will utilize the new Nintendo Revolution controller, a remote control-like controller which can be used just like a paintbrush. Gamers can also hear Ross' voice, as the developers have the rights to the audio files from the series. Alas, the game has no publisher yet, but you can submit ideas for the game to the developers here.

[via Jeff Pidgeon]